Getting it right.. basically...

[TheGreenGoblin]

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/174761

[Rwy in Sight]

I am impressed the thought using Runwy 34L to keep the flames away from the fuselage.

[Undried Plum]

It was actually ATC who suggested 34L. P1 merely accepted it.

Not sure that choosing to continue takeoff after an engine explosion/fire at V1-4 was the cleverest decision of the flight. He got away with, so I guess that makes it the right decision, in a way.

Much impressed by the video graphics, btw. These flight simulators are getting seriously good!

[TheGreenGoblin]

It was actually ATC who suggested 34L. P1 merely accepted it.

Not sure that choosing to continue takeoff after an engine explosion/fire at V1-4 was the cleverest decision of the flight. He got away with, so I guess that makes it the right decision, in a way.

Much impressed by the video graphics, btw. These flight simulators are getting seriously good!

Agree that he was not perfect, he also willingly exceeded bank angle at one stage and thereby generated an alert but overall it was well handled.

The simulation is so good I could feel my adrenalin levels going up when watching this video. There are others in this series (thanks to Stoneboat for pointing this channel out).

[G-CPTN]

Much impressed by the video graphics, btw. These flight simulators are getting seriously good!

A good number of years ago, I joined an online group of flight-sim enthusiasts for 'group flights'.
At that stage, scenery was 'sticks'.
One wizz-kid decided to improve it, and established an early scheme whereby 'images' could be superimposed onto the ground. This developed into photo-real scenery and we were each tasked to check out our own geographical areas for anomalies, such much intense f-sim activity ensued.
I no longer 'sim', having changed my personal circumstances, but the current standard has continued to evolve beyond my recognition such that it is difficult to discern from reality.

[TheGreenGoblin]

I am impressed the thought using Runwy 34L to keep the flames away from the fuselage.

Manchester...

https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19850822-0

[Woody]

More information about Manchester

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-m ... r-33304675

[TheGreenGoblin]

More information about Manchester

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-m ... r-33304675

https://lessonslearned.faa.gov/Manchest ... Report.pdf

[Rwy in Sight]

I am impressed the thought using Runwy 34L to keep the flames away from the fuselage.

Manchester...

https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19850822-0

Similar train of thought - maybe it was the most vital part besides fuselage modification for better survival .

[G-CPTN]

What happened to smoke hoods?

[Boac]

A very sad accident in many ways. The Captain suffered very badly mentally as a result of it. The company SOP in BEA at the time was to stop straight ahead, and firmly enforced - he followed it. It changed after the accident to include the wind direction in the pre-takeoff briefing, and which way the a/c should ideally be turned if possible as it is brought to a halt.

[Woody]

The Captain suffered very badly mentally as a result of it. The company SOP in BEA at the time was to stop straight ahead, and firmly enforced - he followed it. It changed after the accident to include the wind direction in the pre-takeoff briefing, and which way the a/c should ideally be turned if possible as it is brought to a halt.

Going to have disagree with you about the SOP, as he turned off the runway, which unfortunately led to the fire spreading over the fuselage, the SOP changed because of this.

[Boac]

You are absolutely right - brain fade. Yes, he turned off, which was the SOP at the time . As you say the SOP changed to stay on the runway for fire vehicle access and turn the a/c if possible.

Sorry folks - I'll take more water with it...................... Been a long time since I drove!

[Woody]

PaWoody was a 737 driver at the time for Hounslow Flying Club, so it was pretty close to home.

[Rwy in Sight]

A very sad accident in many ways. The Captain suffered very badly mentally as a result of it. The company SOP in BEA at the time was to stop straight ahead, and firmly enforced - he followed it. It changed after the accident to include the wind direction in the pre-takeoff briefing, and which way the a/c should ideally be turned if possible as it is brought to a halt.

Boac you are so authoritative that I understood it was the opposite but I still accept it as right what you wrote.

[Boac]

You did see my correction and the nudge from Woody? I am correct about the changed procedure but I was not about the original procedure. What I wrote was thus not correct so I am not sure what you are saying?

I will repeat
He was badly affected mentally.
He strictly followed the BEA SOP of the time.
As Woody said, the SOP changed to stay on the runway and consider the wind if possible. Turn towards the burning engine in a headwind and away in a tail. Is that any clearer?

[TheGreenGoblin]

It is sad when a basically good person gets involved in an accident for which they are not culpable. I have personally seen how such a thing can destroy a good man.

[Undried Plum]

An example of that might be the skipper of a 747 which made an arse of an ILS approach at LHR and came within 5 to 10 feet of clobbering the Penta Hotel on the other side of the road.

BA 'suspended' him and the CAA threw the book at 'im.

He found it all too much bear and drove his car in to Tentsmuir Forest, duct taped a hose to the exhaust, took the aptly named bitter end in to the car with him, and idled the engine for the rest of his life.

A bloody sad story.

[Woody]

The skipper of BA38, Peter Burkill went through pure hell, being hounded by BA for years before getting his job back eventually.

[TheGreenGoblin]

The moral and ethical burden a good airline Captain takes upon his shoulders is not insignificant and woe betide those who get on the wrong side of the company and other vested interests I guess...

Overrun in Rome ruins Harry Foote's reputation...

The Comet’s pilot, Harry Foote, was demoted from jet operations to flying the Avro York, a boxy freighter based on the wartime Lancaster bomber. ‘His reputation is sullied by that accident report,’ Duffey says, ‘and we knew it at the time’.

‘Foote was a very good pilot, as he demonstrated later when a propeller detached on a York and damaged the right side of the fuselage,’ Duffey says. ‘He did very well indeed to land it safely because the (four engine) York was not a happy aircraft in asymmetric flight. It was a handful with one engine out, but Foote landed with only two engines.’

"Naked Pilot" by David Beaty suggests that this technique was introduced by engineers following Foote's accident.

Behind the scenes, BOAC and de Havilland were worried too. The manufacturers had been doing further tests and a new take-off technique was introduced. The nose-wheel had to be lifted off the ground at 80 knots, but afterwards it had to be placed on the ground again - a most extraordinary manoeuvre.

Beaty's piece suggests the technique was an incomplete attempt to salvage the Comet without really understanding the issues involved in the crash.